Here's something i consider strange that i experienced recently.
I built a new pc, just a system to play around with, nothing special and with no intended purpose. Just to build it and add it to my collection. This system is made up of the following (leaving out redundant information):
pcchips m811LU mainboard
amd duron 1.8ghz (266fsb)
viking valueram 2100 (266fsb)
used cdrw, used fdd, used hdd, new case & psu (480watt)
After i built it, i figured i'd put windows XP on it. Now, let me start by saying i dont currently have an XP system. I'm very happy with my 2000pro systems and it's my windows os of choice. But what the heck? I did have an xp cd and so i figured i'd go ahead and put winxp on it.
Well, winXP would not fully install! It would load up most of the files and start configuring it all through SETUP... but would fail when the clock had about 30 mins left (around the time it installs devices, etc.).
To keep this story short, i went through a series of "trial-and-error" tests to determine that the problem was NOT my winXP cd, was NOT my hard drive, was Not any of my peripherial devices, and was NOT my motherboard. I tried a couple times to install winxp but only to fail each time. I ascertained that i had a bad ram stick! Apparently, when setup would get to a point where it required a certain amount of memory, or an area of memory not used previously, it would fail and my setup would fail giving me errors that pointed to obscure hardware failure.
In the process of experimenting, i took another stick of memory, a kingston valueram module 2100 (266) and installed it. I pulled out the viking valueram module and set it aside. I attempted to install winXP and bingo... installation went through without a hitch! Now here you would think... ok problem isolated. Bad ram module, right?
Maybe. Maybe not.
I RMA-ed the "bad" Viking module back to Newegg.com. I returned the kingston module back to the pc it came from. When i got my new ram module from newegg, i installed it. It was another viking module of the same type (just an exchange).
I then attempted to install winXP again (completely erasing the old installation) just to make sure my problem was taken care of.
The problem returned! WinXP will not install onto the computer with the Viking ValueRam module! It gets to around the same area as previously and it fails, giving me an array of errors that really strike me as strange. Again, using a totally different brand of memory module and using the same exact pc configuration settings and components winXP installed just fine! Yet, it will not work when i use a Viking ValueRam 2100 module!
Now, to further my experiment i tried installing a different operating system. Perhaps the problem is still something located in my pc right? I mean, if i have trouble installing a different OS then i know the problem ISNT winXP... right? I'm asking this rhetorically, of course, because the reverse is my end result:
I was able to install win98 just fine and without a hitch using the Viking ValueRam that WinXP rejects! I don't get it. Maybe someone out there has some answers or knows something that i was totally unaware of until now.
Results of all my testing, experimenting and trial-and-error work bring me to the conclusion that WinXP will not install on this system if it has Viking ValueRam, instead liking to be installed on the system when it has a "higher" brand of memory.
Also, for the record, i want to say in the defense of Viking and all who may end up bashing Viking after reading this, that i have never ever had a problem with Viking Memory and i go out of my way to make sure my low-end systems use it. There are only 3 brands of memory that i stand by due to my own personal experiences (and i admit that i haven't used all the different brands out there) and those are VIKING, KINGSTON & CORSAIR.
This whole thing is strange. Comments anyone?
I built a new pc, just a system to play around with, nothing special and with no intended purpose. Just to build it and add it to my collection. This system is made up of the following (leaving out redundant information):
pcchips m811LU mainboard
amd duron 1.8ghz (266fsb)
viking valueram 2100 (266fsb)
used cdrw, used fdd, used hdd, new case & psu (480watt)
After i built it, i figured i'd put windows XP on it. Now, let me start by saying i dont currently have an XP system. I'm very happy with my 2000pro systems and it's my windows os of choice. But what the heck? I did have an xp cd and so i figured i'd go ahead and put winxp on it.
Well, winXP would not fully install! It would load up most of the files and start configuring it all through SETUP... but would fail when the clock had about 30 mins left (around the time it installs devices, etc.).
To keep this story short, i went through a series of "trial-and-error" tests to determine that the problem was NOT my winXP cd, was NOT my hard drive, was Not any of my peripherial devices, and was NOT my motherboard. I tried a couple times to install winxp but only to fail each time. I ascertained that i had a bad ram stick! Apparently, when setup would get to a point where it required a certain amount of memory, or an area of memory not used previously, it would fail and my setup would fail giving me errors that pointed to obscure hardware failure.
In the process of experimenting, i took another stick of memory, a kingston valueram module 2100 (266) and installed it. I pulled out the viking valueram module and set it aside. I attempted to install winXP and bingo... installation went through without a hitch! Now here you would think... ok problem isolated. Bad ram module, right?
Maybe. Maybe not.
I RMA-ed the "bad" Viking module back to Newegg.com. I returned the kingston module back to the pc it came from. When i got my new ram module from newegg, i installed it. It was another viking module of the same type (just an exchange).
I then attempted to install winXP again (completely erasing the old installation) just to make sure my problem was taken care of.
The problem returned! WinXP will not install onto the computer with the Viking ValueRam module! It gets to around the same area as previously and it fails, giving me an array of errors that really strike me as strange. Again, using a totally different brand of memory module and using the same exact pc configuration settings and components winXP installed just fine! Yet, it will not work when i use a Viking ValueRam 2100 module!
Now, to further my experiment i tried installing a different operating system. Perhaps the problem is still something located in my pc right? I mean, if i have trouble installing a different OS then i know the problem ISNT winXP... right? I'm asking this rhetorically, of course, because the reverse is my end result:
I was able to install win98 just fine and without a hitch using the Viking ValueRam that WinXP rejects! I don't get it. Maybe someone out there has some answers or knows something that i was totally unaware of until now.
Results of all my testing, experimenting and trial-and-error work bring me to the conclusion that WinXP will not install on this system if it has Viking ValueRam, instead liking to be installed on the system when it has a "higher" brand of memory.
Also, for the record, i want to say in the defense of Viking and all who may end up bashing Viking after reading this, that i have never ever had a problem with Viking Memory and i go out of my way to make sure my low-end systems use it. There are only 3 brands of memory that i stand by due to my own personal experiences (and i admit that i haven't used all the different brands out there) and those are VIKING, KINGSTON & CORSAIR.
This whole thing is strange. Comments anyone?
